Originally Posted by
Pelicanidae
I've watched probably about 25 games that Zion played in college. I've looked at a lot of scouting reports, heard a lot of material. Watched probably another 3 or 4 hours of analysis video. When I watched the Duke games, I played probably over a hundred possessions back in a slow motion, again and again, and took literally thousands of words of notes on what I've seen.
Zion's potential is incredible. I don't think it's fair to compare him to someone like Lebron, not because he doesn't have that level of ability, but because Lebron's skillset is so particular. Zion's skillset is also very particular, but it's different.
I think his ceiling is a top 5 player of all time. I genuinely think that. He said in a pre-draft interview that his goals include rookie of the year, MVP, and DPOY. I think he has that potential, to win all of those awards. We're looking at a guy who could be 10+ time all-star in his career, multiple time MVP winner, and yes, DPOY.
I've seen his athleticism compared to the exact mid-way point between Shaq and prime D Rose, and that's pretty accurate, although his body mechanics and landing fundamentals are (thankfully) much better than Rose's.
Zion is what you get when you take the offensive game of Charles Barkley, the defensive game of Draymond Green, and stitch them together into a Frankenstein's monster of basketball.
Will he reach his full potential? That all depends on work ethic, and what environment is put around him. But if he puts in the work and effort, which I believe he will, we're looking at an all timer.